Preservation of packaged foodstuff

ABSTRACT

A package contains a moist-foodstuff which would normally be subject to microbial spoilage but which has an alkaline pH to preserve it during storage. Mixed with this foodstuff is an alkali-neutralising substance which is not available to act upon the foodstuff during storage at ambient temperature but which is releasable to neutralise to foodstuff when the content of this package are heated prior to consumption.

United States Patent [191 [111 3,821,424 Gould v 51 June 28, 1974 [54] PRESERVATION 0F PACKAGED 3,692,534 9/1972 Veno et al. .99/150 FOODSTUFF [75] Inventor: grahamde Warwick Gould, Bedford, Primary Examiner Hyman Lord ng n Attorney, Agent, or Firm-John J. Maitner [73] Assignee: .Lever Brother Company, New York,

22 F! d: 23, 1972 1 June- 57 ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 265,937 1 A package contains a moist-foodstuff whichwould [52] U.S. C1 426/106, 426/129, 426/151, normally be subject to microbial spoilage but which 426/224, 426/331 has an alkaline pH to preserve it during storage. [51] Int. Cl. A23b 1/00, A231 3/00, B65b 55/00 Mixed with this foodstuff is an alkali-neutralising sub- [58] Field of Search 99/ 107, 108, 150, 157, stance which is not available to act upon the foodstuff 99/ 174; 426/ 106, 129, 151, 224, 331, 167, 168 during storage at ambient temperature but which is releasable to neutralise to foodstuff when the content [56] References Cited of this package are heated prior to consumption.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,560,222 2/1971 Delaney, 99/108 3 Claims, N0 Drawings PRESERVATION OF PACKAGED FOODSTUFF The invention relates to the preservation of moist perishable foodstuffs.

it is possible to preserve moist perishable foodstuffs 5 by acidifying them, freezing them or drying them, or by heat sterilising them in containers of metal or plastics material, or by the addition of chemical preservatives such as sorbic acid, but each of these methods can be either costly to putinto effect or deleterious to the product.

We have now discovered that it is possible to preserve moist perishable foodstuffs without resort to heating, freezing or drying by the addition of an edible alkali, the effect of which is neutralised prior to consumption by release of a loosely bound alkalineutralising agent.

According to the invention, we provide a package containing a moist foodstuff which would normally be subject to microbial spoilage but which has an alkaline pH to effect preservation during storage, and an alkalineutralising substance which is not available to act upon the foodstuff during storage at ambient temperature but which is releasable to act upon the foodstuff by heating the contents of the package, for example prior to serving for consumption, whereby the effect of the alkali on the foodstuff is reduced or removed.

We have shown that the presence of an alkali such as sodium carbonate or sodium hydroxide will effectively inhibit microbial growth when mixed with a moist perishable foodstuff, thus enabling the foodstuff to be preserved for an extended period of time at ambient temperature, provided that the pH of the foodstuff is at least 10, preferably at least 11.

acid, or mineral acids such as hydrochloric acid,v or acidic phosphates.

The alkali-neutralising substance can be bound by providing it with a protective coat to prevent its premature release while the foodstuff is being stored. As an example the alkali-neutralising substance can be encapsulated with an edible film such as gelatin which melts or disintegrates at cooking temperature, or it may be physically bound within particles of a high melting edible fat such as palm top stearin fraction which melts at about 60 C, or other suitable fats which melt to release the alkali-neutralising substance when the foodstuff is heated.

In order that the alkali-neutralising substance should effectively and uniformly reduce the pH when the foodstuff is heated, particles of the encapsulated or otherwise bound substance should be evenly distributed throughout the foodstuff. The invention is. for this reason, particularly applicable to finely divided or comminuted foodstuffs such as sausage :meat or vegetable puree, and to liquid foodstuffs such as sauces.

Preferably the foodstuff will be pasteurised in order to inactivate non-spore forms of bacteria. in which case the capsules will be so constructed as to retain their contents' at the pasteurisation temperature (e.g. 75 C) and yet release their contents on. cooking.

It is particularly surprising to note that, where the perishable moist foodstuff is raw meat, the red colour which is mainly due to the presence of oxymyoglobin. is not destroyed by raising the pH to an alkaline value, whereas red meat which is acidified in order to preserve it suffers permanent loss of this red colour. Furthermore, we have noted that the alkali taint that has hitherto been associated with foodswhich have been Evidence in support of the inhibition of bacteria at treated with alkali can Completely disappear Wheh the hi h H values i ided i Experiment 1 hi h i 1 pH is reduced on release of the alkali-neutralising subscribed later in this specification. Stance by heating the foodstuff w h 21130 di d h a number of b i b- Certain aspects of the invention are illustrated by the stances, for example clupeine and salmine, and sequesf QW p i trants, for example hexametaphosphate, EDTA, citrate 40 I and phytate which are ineffective as inhibitors of mi- EXPERIMENT l crobial growth at low or neutral pH values become inr a ingly effective as the P Value is raised, and Will This Experiment illustrates the effect of alkaline pH therefore potentiate the preservative effects Of alkalinon the growth of typical food pgilage bacteria otherity. Accordingly, such substances may be included with i lt d nder ideal conditions. an in a moist perishable fOOClStUff to effect pres- Samples of heart infusion agar were adjusted with 50.. ervation at a pH value which is usually lower than that dium hydroxide to pH values of 7.2, 8.2, 9.2, 10.0, 10.5 necessary to effect Preservation when these Substances and 10.7, dispensed in filled bottles and inoculated with e ot present. cultures of various bacteria. The cultures were incu- Evidence in support of the inhibition of bacteria by b t d at 30 C for 30 days and growth of the bacteria such basic substances and sequestrants when applied in was d d alkaline nutrient environments is provided in Experi- The results (Table I) showed that the growth of cerv ments 2 and 3 described later in this Specificat rain bacteria was retarded at pH 8.2, and the most resis- 1 When the alkali-preserved foodstuff is heated prior m b t ria r inhibited at pH 10.7.

to nsu p an encapsulated or Otherwise bound The bacterial spores were all inhibited by alkali at pH alkali-neutralising substance is released in order to re- 10,0, Consequently, when a mild (pasteurising) heat duce the pH of the product to the a u ne r that at treatment is employed to inactivate the vegetative bacwhich it is normally consumed. teria, the pH values needed to inhibit growth are con- Suitable alkali-neutralising substances are edible orsiderably lower than when no heat treatment is emganic acids such as acetic acid, citric acid and tartaric l d TABLE I No. of Strains Growth* at pH Values Bacteria Tested 7.2 8.2 9.2 10.0 10.5 10.7

Micrococcus 8 -H- Staphylococcus i +-H- H Staph. aureus 7 +H- .-ll- Bacillus (vegetative) 1 -l++ 4-H Bacteria TABLE I ;-Continued No. of Strains Tested Growth at DH Values Bacillusv (spores) Clostridium (vegetative) Clostridium (spores) Clost. perfringens (vegetative) Escherichia Klebsiella Proteus Salmonella Shigella Chromobacteria Pseudomonas Bacteroides Corynebacterium Microbacteria Lactobacillus Streptococcus Streptococcus Strep. fae'calis Yeasts wloamwm-n-Qwc-csbwau meantime. a 1

iH iHHHHH H i 1' i i iiiii H i v1$|$l1|++11l1||+ 1+1 +1-1- Gootl growth +1- Slight inhibition Severe inhibition No growth EXPERIMENT 2 This Experiment illustrates the alkali potentiation of the anti-bacterial substance clupeine sulphate when its effect was tested against typical food spoilage bacteria otherwise cultured under ideal conditions.

Heart infusion broth in 10 ml amounts was adjusted with sodium hydroxide to pH values of 7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, 9.5, 10.0, 10.5, and 11.0. The basic substance clupeine sulphate was added to samples of the media at levels of 0, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2.5, 5. 10, 50, 100,200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 ppm. Each series was inoculated with cells of various pure cultures of bacteria at a concentration of about IOi'lml and incubated at EXPERIMENT 3 TABLE n1 Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of Sodium Bacteria hexametaphosphate ('71) at pH values of Bacillus ccreus 0.1 0.1 0.5 0.5 0.1 0.05 0.05 0 0 Clostridium sporogcnes 1,0 1.0 2.5 0.5 0.1 0.01 0 0 0 Pscudomonas fluorcsccns 10 10 5 2.5 1.0 0.005 0 0 0 Escherichia coli 10 10 10 10 5.0 ().l 0 0 0 Proteus species 10 10 10 10 10 0,5 0 0 0 Leuconostoc species 10 10 10 10 10 10 0.5 0.1 0.5

Streptococcus faecalis duced as the value was raised.

C for 3 days. Table II shows that the levels of clupeine sulphate that inhibited growth of the bacteria were re- TABLE II EXPERIMENT 4 that alkali is a Inhibitory Concentrations of Clupeine Bacteria Sulphate (ppm) at pH values of Leuconostoc species 100 5 2.5 0 0 0 0 0 Pseudomonas fluorescens 50 50 50 10 2.5 l 0 0 0 Proteus species 600 600 600 50 0 0 0 0 Escherichia C011 100 100 100 I00 50 50 1 0 0 Bacillus cereus I00 100 50 I0 5 5 l 0 0 Micrococcus lysodeikticus 5 5 5 5 5 5 0.5 0 0 Streptococcus faccalis 600 600 600 500 200 I00 50 0 0 Clostridium sporogenes more effective inhibitor of microbial growth in the ab sence than in the presence of oxygen.

Samples of heart infusion broth were adjusted to pH values of 7.2, 8.5, 9.0, 9.5 and 10.0 with sodium hydroxide, and inoculated with the bacteria Escherichia coli or Bacillus cereus at or 10 organisms per ml. After 8 days incubation at 30 C, the pattern of growth was as shown in TablelV.

The increased effectiveness of alkali in the absence of oxygen was most clearly seen at pH 9.5, where the heavy inoeula of both E. coli and B. cereus grew inthe presence, but not in the absence of oxygen.

The invention is further illustrated by the following Examples whichdescribe its application to the preservation of foodstuffs.

EXAMPLE 1 This Example illustrates alkali preservation of comminuted meat containing natural contaminant bacterial flora.

Comminuted raw meat samples (10 g) were left at their natural pH value of about pH 6.0 or were adjusted to pH 9.0 and 10.0 with sodium carbonate. Citric acid bound within granules of fat (palm top stearin fraction) was added to some samples in sufficient quantity to neutralise the alkalinity when the acid was released from the melting fat during cooking. in addition, a sequestrant polyphosphate (Tariphos) was added to some samples at levels of 0.34 percent by weight. The samples were incubated at 10 C for up to 9 days, and the pH values and numbers of bacteria were estimated daily.

The pH value of the pH 6 samples remained aout constant during the 9 day period; the samples initially at pH 9 had fallen to pH 8 inabout 5 days and the samples initially at pH 10 had fallen to about pH 9 in 5 days.

Table IV shows the number of bacteria in the various samples each day, and the preservative effect of the alkalinisation. Polyphosphates caused a general decrease in bacterial numbers in the pH 10 samples. The samples were cooked by frying after 9 days, which resulted in neutralisation so that the pH value of the preserved samples containing bound citric acid fell to the normal meat pH value of about 6.

EXAMPLE 2 This Example illustrates the alkali preservation of a composite Beef Risotto dish.

A dried Beef Risotto meal was reconstituted with water and adjusted to various alkaline pH values with sodium hydroxide. Aliquots were then packed in plastic pouches and pasteurised at C for 45 minutes. prior to storage at 20 C.

Table V shows the resulting growth of bacteria. indicating that in a pasteurised food .with no additives. pH valuesof between 10.1 and 10.5 were necessary to prevent microbial growth over a period of 60 days.

Table V Days at 20C Nos of bacteria I g. of sample at pH .2 9.7 10.1 10.5 (control) 0 100 100 100 2 100 100 100 100 5 9X10 2X10 100 l00 9 1.2X10 100 l00 l6 1OU 1UO 19 100 100 26 100 100 60 7.2X10 100 EXAMPLE 3 This Example illustrates the alkali preservation of several food products.

Various foods were alkalinized by adding sodium carbonate. Then capsules containing citric acid were added in quantities calculated to be sufficient to return the pH values after cooking to the original pH of the foods.

The alkalinized foods containing capsules were incubated at 10 C: the growth of bacteria, which was recorded daily, is shown in Table V11, which indicates that a storage pH value of less than 10.0 did not prevent spoilage whereas the samples stored at pH 10.0 did not spoil.

TABLE IV Initial Polyphosphate Bound citric Numbers of bacterial present (per gm) pH value present or acid present after storage at 10C for (days) of sample absent or absent 0 2' 4 6 9 6 absent absent 3.1 X 10 3.9 X 10 4.6 X 10 2.2 X 10 3.8 X 10" 6 present absent 2.4 X 10 6.0 X 10 1.2 X 10 1.3 X 10 4.1 X 10 9 absent absent 1.2 X 10 7.6 X 10 4.1 X 10" 1.9 X 10 2.7 X 10* 9 absent present 2.4 X 10 1.4 X 10 2.5 X 10" 4.0 X 10" 2.3 X 10" 9 present absent 1.1 X 10 8.5 X 10" 1.4 X 10 1.1 X 10" 2.8 X 10" 9 present present 1.4 X 10 3.6 X 10" 2.6 X 10 8.5 X 4.0 X 10" 10 absent absent 9.1 X 10 2.2 X 10 3.2 X 10 5.3 X 10 2.1 X 10 10 absent present 5.7 X 10 1.4 X 10 1.2 X 10" 3.2 X 10* 4.1 X 10" 10 present absent 8.4 X 10 1.0 X 10 2.7 X 10 7.5 X 10' 1.0 X 10 11) present present 4,8 X 10 2.1 X 10 1.3 X 10" 11.11 X 1.0 2.0 X 111 TABLE VI Product pH Value Capsules Nos of bacteria (per g.) after inoculation for (days):-

added(%). l 2 3 6.0 0(control) 3.1 X 10 2.3 X 6' 3.9 X 10 2.6 X 10 4.6 X10" Comminutcd 5.5 2.4 X 10" 2.1 X 10 1.4 X 10" 6.4 X 10 2.5 X 10' Meat 10.0 7.5 53X 10 8.9)(10 1.4Xl0 lI'lXlO 1.2X10" Chlcken 6.2 0(control) 1.7 x10 2.1 x10 1.0 x l0= 5 2 X 1.3 x10 Supreme 10.0 3.0 24 X 10 8.2 X10 21 X10 1.9 X10 2.4 X10 5.9 0(contro1) 1.5 X 10 3.0 X10 1.1 X10" 1.8 X10" Sausage 9.0 3.1 4.2 X 10" 2.2 X l0 3.0 X10 1.2 X10 8.0 X 10" Meat 10.0 5.0 4.1 X 10" 2.5 X 10" 1.5 X10" 9.2 X10 8.9 X 10 6.0 0(control) Comminuted 5.5 1.8 X 10 4.0 X 10* 2.0 X 10" 1.0 X 10" 2.3 X 10 Meat 10.0 7.5 5.5 X10 3.2 X10 5.8 X10 2.7 X10 4.1 X10 Chicken 6.2 0(control) 2.7 X 10 3.0 X 10 1.2 X 10" 1.8 X 10* i Supreme I 10.0 3.0 1.9 X 10 4.0 X 10 1.4 X10 5.6 X10 1.4 X10 2.4 X 10 5.9 ()(control) Sausage 9.0 3.1 1.2 X 10" 6.1 X 10" 7.9 X 10 7.9 X 10" 4.0 X 10 Meat 10.0 5.0 2.0 X 10" 14 X10 5.0 X 10 7.6 X10 7.6 X10 I claim: a heat-releasable manner from said foodstuff but which is released to neutralise said alkali when the contents of said package are heated prior to consumption.

2. A package according to claim 1, wherein the separation is achieved by having said alkali-neutralising substance physically bound within particles of an edible fat which melts at about 60 C.

3. A package according to claim 1, wherein said foodstuff includes raw meat. 

2. A package according to claim 1, wherein the separation is achieved by having said alkali-neutralising substance physically bound within particles of an edible fat which melts at about 60* C.
 3. A package according to claim 1, wherein said foodstuff includes raw meat. 